Unholy Crusade: Typical Tokyo Love Story
by Masquerade
Summary: A sidestory of Unholy Crusade. Selena teams up with one of the Z fighters to keep Cell from causing havoc in Tokyo.


All things DBZ are © TOEI, Bird Studios, and FUNimation, except for my characters.

****

Unholy Crusade

Typical Tokyo Love Story

Sometime during Act 1 of Unholy Crusade…

Selena awoke around early morning, as the sun was starting to peek from the horizon. She sat up in her sleeping bag and stretched. She had a great nights sleep; she didn't have the dream last night so she slept the whole night. She looked over at Sakura's sleeping bag, and found the little girl still asleep. Selena smiled, and quickly got dressed. Today felt like it would be a really good day.

She walked out of her tent, and turned her head towards Krillin's tent. There was nothing going on inside the tent, so she assumed he was still asleep. Then, she did a couple stretches to relax her muscles and did a few practice swings to wake herself up. She felt great, and she wasn't sure why. She wasn't a morning person, but she felt ready to go and take on Cell all by herself. 

She decided to make breakfast for Krillin and Sakura before setting out on the trail to the Sacred City once again. She quickly opened the breakfast capsule and started to start cooking over a battery-powered heater. She had instant oatmeal in mind, so she hoped Sakura and Krillin liked her idea of breakfast. She wasn't too thrilled; she was growing tired of oatmeal. Oh well, it was something to eat.

Then, she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. She winced, and looked at her arm. The scars were swelling and it was stinging her arm. 

__

Oh great…she moaned inside her head. _He's here somewhere._ She looked up from her cooking and searched the area. She didn't see him, but that didn't mean he wasn't around. He was a tricky jerkoff, hard to spot and difficult to fight. "He" was none other than Cell, the wretched android from the future. She hoped he didn't see their camp, and if he did then he was watching her right now.

It took a while, but the pain in her arm seemed to fade. His presence left the area. He probably found a town and decided to go for a bite of his own breakfast. She didn't like Cell's idea of food: people. She was trying to stop him from killing off everyone on the planet, and it wasn't easy. She had yet to win a fight with him. He was as crafty as he was strong, plus she didn't find his crazy sense of humor funny at all. She was set on killing him, and making sure no threat like him would torment the Earth again.

__

Well, I think he's gone…Selena figured, setting the cooked breakfast on a stone for it to cool. _What's the nearest town from here?_ She quickly went inside her tent, and got out her map without disturbing Sakura. She took a look.

"Lesse…" she plotted out, tracing her finger along the path they were taking. "We last set camp here…then we moved out here…then we stopped here for supplies…then that puts us…here. So we're next to…OH MY GOD!" She stood up in shock at the map. There was a giant, black star next to where she was, indicating a capital city. "How couldn't I see it on the way here?! We're a hop, skip and jump away from Tokyo!"

__

Cell in Tokyo?

It's an "All-you-can-eat buffet" for him!

Sorry Krillin, Sakura…I gotta go.

If Cell consumes the people of Tokyo…

…his power would be enormous…unstoppable…

I refuse to let that happen!

^

It seemed like no time as Selena drove her swoop across the tree-filled wilderness to the gigantic city of Tokyo, the capital of the Japanese territory. The city was so crowded that she couldn't drive her swoop through the city. She was forced to put it away in it's capsule and put it in her pocket. She walked the cities on foot, keeping an eye on her scar while seeing the sites. She hadn't been to Tokyo before, so it was something to marvel at. Several posters of her favorite animes were on several skyscrapers, and the scents of many delicious dishes filled the air. It was a typical big city, and since it was daylight, none of the electric signs were flashing. They could be seen normally in their natural color just fine in the sun.

Selena felt a little lost, not knowing where the heart of the city was. Since it was so big, she had no idea where to start looking for Cell. She felt like she was digging for a nail in a haystack. Where was she to start looking at all?

Suddenly, her scar throbbed in pain, and she clutched it tightly. 

__

Speak of the devil, and he shall come…now, where is he?

She turned her head in all directions to scan the crowds. She had to turn her body around as she walked too, so that she could see all around her. She was having no such luck. Of course, Cell wouldn't just walk out into a crowd of people. He's too noticeable for that. A giant green monster in a crowd of humans would stick out like a sore thumb. So, where would he be hiding? There weren't all that many places to hide in Tokyo, Selena was pretty sure of that.

__

Maybe an alley way…which one…there's practically a whole network of alleys in this city…

She kept her eyes peeled for particularly dark areas of the city. She kept walking casually down the street, looking around for anything that could possibly resemble Cell. She wished her scar would be less vague about Cell's whereabouts. Hell, she didn't even know how far away he had to be before she couldn't sense him anymore…

Suddenly, she saw him! He was crouched in the mouth of an alleyway, staring out at the people. She started running towards him angrily. She found him, and now it was time to stop him before he even got anybody. 

Bad move. He saw her. 

Their eyes locked for a moment, then he retreated further into the darkness. Selena followed him, running madly towards his hiding place. She ran down the alley hard and quickly, making her footsteps echo off the walls of the two buildings surrounding her.

TK-TK-TK-TK-TK-TK-TK…

She was following the sound of Cell's equally quick running feet…

KT-KT-KT-KT-KT-KT-KT-KT…

She could catch him! She knew she could!

Suddenly, she found herself at the end of the alley, overlooking the main street and the people streaming by. Cell was no where in sight, but her scar was still aching. Thinking that maybe he was in another alley close by, she ran along the main street with the flow of the crowds.

__

He's out here somewhere…where did he go?!

^

__

Foolish child…Cell grinned to himself as he watched Selena run away from below her. 

__

She forgot about this little trick, didn't she?

He was carefully positioned with his feet and hands between the alleys, keeping himself in place ten feet off the ground. When Selena was gone, he took his hands and feet off the walls and landed on the ground. He watched her disappear into the heavily populated crowd with a smile.

__

There she goes…

And now the game begins…

^

Selena kept running. Her scar was still aching, so she guessed she was on the right track. He had to be close. She had to stop him before he got the chance to hurt anyone. If she couldn't kill him here, the least she could do was get the monster out of Tokyo!

Suddenly, someone ran in front of her, and stared out into the street. Selena couldn't stop herself in time. She panicked.

"WATCH OUT!"

CRASH!

She practically tackled the man in front of her and they both fell to the pavement. As her shoulder hit the sidewalk, she heard something shatter nearby. She tried to get up, but pain stabbed right into her shoulder.

"Ow…"

"Oh, here. Lemme help you up." A male voice offered. She felt someone grip her shoulders, not too strong and not too lightly, and carefully pull her up to her feet. "Are you okay?" It was the man she crashed into. He had helped her up and was standing right behind her. Before she could turn her head to look at him, he let her go and bent over to the ground. "Oh no…my sunglasses…"

"Huh?" Selena wondered, looking down at the ground. She saw a pair of sunglasses next to the man's feet, but the glass eyecovers were completely shattered. The man picked them up and stared at them sadly. Selena felt so guilty. "Oh man, I'm sorry." She apologized. "I should have stopped in time…"

"It's alright." The man smiled at her. Selena got a good look at his face. He was a young man about her age, dressed in a black shirt and a small blue jacket. He also wore black pants and yellow boots. He had short purple hair, a sharp nose and an equally sharp stare. His hard eyes were softened by his smile. "I probably should have watched where I was going. It's okay." He started walking away. "Take care."

"No, wait!" Selena stopped, grabbing the man's elbow. "I'll buy you a new pair of sunglasses."

"Huh?" the man blinked in surprise. "Oh, no, no, it's okay…"

"No, it's not okay." She insisted. "I broke your sunglasses, and I gotta do something for you. I saw a vender on the way here. C'mon!" she pulled him back the way she came. She was so strong that the man had no choice but to follow. All he could do was try to reason with her.

"Now, wait a minute! Please…miss, please let go! It's okay, really! I don't mind! Miss? Miss?!"

^

"Here ya go!" Selena chirped, handing the man a new pair of sunglasses. "I took off the price sticker and everything. Try 'em on!"

"Okay." The man chuckled. He slid the sunglasses past his ears and over his nose. Selena grinned with two pleased nods of her head.

"They look really good on you."

"Really?" the man smiled. "Got a mirror?"

"Oh, yeah." Selena nodded, reaching into her pocket. She took out a capsule case that contained her bath and beauty materials. On the opening cover of the case was a small hand held mirror. She held it out to the man. He chuckled at the sight of himself.

"I don't think I'll miss my old pair at all." He believed. "Thank you so very much, miss…uh…"

"Selena."

"Selena. That's a pretty name." He held out a friendly hand. "My name is Trunks."

"Trunks." Selena perked up at the interesting yet familiar name. "Nice to meet you. And it's no problem."

They shook hands.

"Well," Trunks smiled, turning away from Selena, "I better be on my way now."

"Hey wait…" Selena stopped. "I remember your name from somewhere…"

"I don't think we've met before…" Trunks doubted.

"Oh wait! I remember! Krillin told me about you. You're the guy from the future, aren't you?"

"You know Krillin?"

"Yeah. We're traveling together. He's, uh, 'protecting' me from Cell."

"Cell?" Trunks narrowed his eyebrows. "What does he have to do with you?"

"I think we should go somewhere where we can talk. Are you busy right now?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, c'mon. We need somewhere…where we won't be disturbed. Oh, I know!" Selena thought up, taking Trunk's hand and leading him down the street. "You like sushi, Trunks?"

^

Selena found a sushi bar further down the street. She ordered dishes for both herself and Trunks. Since her scar hadn't been acting up at all, she figured Cell wasn't going to start attacking if she was in town. Plus, Trunks was here, and that was double trouble for him. Or was Trunks the reason why Cell wasn't attacking? Did Cell know Trunks was in Tokyo?

They both talked over their cold plates of sushi. Trunks explained what he knew about Cell and the androids. Selena wasn't all that amazed that Trunks knew more about the androids than Krillin did, but she understood the boy's pain. His way of life was something she was fighting to keep others from suffering from. What Trunks could say about the androids was incredible; he seemed to know everything about #17 and #18. Knowing about the two heartless machines Cell was after was a little disheartening.

"Well," Selena thought, biting down on her chopsticks, "if the androids are going to make Cell stronger, why can't we just go after the androids?"

"Because the androids don't have power levels." Trunks explained. "They're impossible to find. Cell, on the other hand, being a bio android, has a life force and a power level…"

"…but since he's one of Dr. Gero's models, he can lower his power level to nothing while being at full health."

"Wow, you're catching on really quick." Trunks admired, grabbing a roll of sushi with his chopsticks.

"Well, where are the androids now?"

"We don't know."

"Of course. You guys can't sense them. Well, what about Cell, can he sense them?"

"No."

"Oh, thank God." Selena sighed with relief.

"I know. It would be scary if he could."

"So, the only thing we can do is hunt down Cell just cause he's easier to find?"

"Yeah."

"But…he's more dangerous than the androids, isn't he?"

"We don't know that for sure. But Piccolo doesn't think that. He thinks Cell would be easier because…well, he said Cell was new to fighting on this level, so we have the experience advantage."

"You have got to be kidding." Selena blinked. "He's new at fighting? He's pretty good to me."

Selena started telling her side of the story. Trunks was amazed at what she had to say.

"You fought him all by yourself? And lived?!"

"I'm right here in front of you, aren't I?"

"Dear God…I just can't believe it…"

"But if you're right…I guess it's my experience as a fighter that's keeping me alive."

"I guess so. Wow. The others are not going to believe this either…have you met the others?"

"Yeah. Piccolo and Tien. I heard there's more guys. Where are they?"

"The Kame House. They were okay, last I checked."

"And they're not helping out because…"

"I dunno. They're scared, I guess."

"Well, who wouldn't be?" Selena sighed, looking out the window of the bar. She watched the people walk past and the cars drive by. 

__

Cell is out there somewhere…

And if he's not going to attack, then we'd better go find him.

^

After paying for their sushi, Selena and Trunks began walking around Tokyo. Their primary target was Cell, wherever he was. Trunks tried scanning the area to feel out the android. Selena kept an eye on her scar for even the slightest tug of pain. Both had to be aware of where each other were, since the crowds were starting to get thicker and thicker as they headed further downtown. The crowds were cutting the both of them off and trying to separate them. Trunks and Selena had to force their way to each other.

__

My God…Selena thought as she pushed someone out of her way, _this place is so full of people…Cell in this city would be like a vampire in a blood bank…we can't let him attack…_

If he hasn't done so already…

"I found him!" Trunks announced, pointing down an alley. "He's down there somewhere."

"Are you sure?" Selena asked.

"Yeah. I felt him. C'mon." It was his turn to lead her behind the hand. As Selena trailed behind Trunks, she noticed the muscle lines under his jacket. They were very impressive.

__

Bulky body, and a cutie pie face to match…

She started blushing.

__

This is no time to be checking the guy out! I've got a job to do!

Now, where's that bastard Cell?!

^

"I know this place pretty well." Trunks boasted as they walked down the alleyway. "It's almost no different from my time line, except there's a lot more people here. The alleyways are connected into a giant network. Cell could move around here pretty easily. He could get from one side of town to the other without being noticed through this."

"Just great." Selena sighed. "Well, how much further away is he?"

"I think he's moving towards us…" he estimated. "He's getting a lot closer."

"Hey! Leggo!" she finally objected of Trunks holding her hand. She pulled it out of his grasp, and put her hand on her sheathed staff. She kept ready, walking behind Trunks. Soon, the alley spilled into an intersection of three other alleys. 

"He's coming from one of these paths…" Trunks estimated.

"Then we wait right here for him." Selena suggested, unsheathing her staff. "The minute you see him, blast him with everything you got."

"Better not." Trunks shook his head. "I can easily destroy this whole city doing that."

"Okay…" Selena groaned. "Enough to kill him."

"Okay." Trunks nodded. 

Then, the both of them waited.

Selena's eyes darted to each open path of the alleys. Cell was coming from one of them. Which one? She didn't know and couldn't tell. All she knew was that he was coming. Trunks stood still and patient by her side. His eyes were staring straight ahead, possibly at nothing. He was concentrating his energy, getting ready for the first strike. Selena admired his warrior skills, he must have been in the fighting lifestyle longer than she was. 

__

Kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…

She could hear his footsteps. But she couldn't tell where they were coming from…

They got louder…

__

Kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…

And louder…

Kt-cH…kt-CH…kT-CH…kT-CH…

"The second alley!" Selena called out, holding her staff to the alley in mention, and fired a ki blast. Something in the shadows jumped out of the way, and the blast decimated some trashcans in a cloud of light and dust. Whatever it was, she didn't hit it…

"Selena! Look out!" Trunks shouted in warning. "Behind you!"

Just as Selena turned around to see behind her…

CRACK!

Cell's fist plowed into her face, knocking her into the darkness of the second alley. Her back skidded on the pavement, and she promptly sat up, holding her nose.

"Ow! Damn, it's bleeding…" She pinched her nose shut, and looked down the alley at Trunks and Cell. Trunks was fighting the monster, but Cell blocked all his swings and kicks easily. Finally, Cell moved in on the attack, and Trunks dodged all of Cell's jabs and kicks just as easily as the monster did. Selena was amazed of Trunk's skills. The kid moved so fast, and was so agile…it was like he had fought Cell before…

Suddenly, Trunks stabbed a high kick on Cell's chin, flinging the monster backward. Selena stood up, sheathing her sword, and cleaned off her nose with the back of her hand. It was still bleeding, but just a little big. She rushed into the fight as Cell jumped back up to his feet.

"Trunks! Out of the way!" Selena shouted in warning. She lunged for Cell, peppering him with hard and fast punches. Cell could hardly block any of them, all of them landed on his chest and face, and according to his growls and snarls of pain they hurt a lot. Cell struck back with a hard blow, but Selena caught it in her hand. She swung her hand downward get the grabbed fist out of the way, and proceeded to punch out Cell's lights with her other hand. 

Suddenly, Cell swung his knee up, hitting Selena in the stomach. In her brief moment of pain, she stopped her attacks, and Cell flung her away from him. She flipped in the air to catch herself and landed on her feet. She skidded next to Trunks.

"What is up?" she wondered. "He's not hitting very hard today."

"Maybe it's because we're both here…" Trunks suggested. He unsheathed a sword from his back. "How about we take him on together?"

"Yeah." Selena grinned. "That's sounds like a really good idea."

"I can't fight more than one person…" Cell growled through his fangs.

"Well, that's just tough luck!" Selena laughed triumphantly as she and Trunks ganged up on Cell. Cell hissed angrily, then stepped to the side to get Trunks out of the way and concentrated on Selena. Selena unsheathed her staff, and blocked one of Cell's chops. She kicked him in an unguarded side, and he fell to the ground. She raised her staff like a club to bash his head in, but Cell quickly rolled away, letting Selena's staff strike concrete. Trunks got on the other side of Cell and kicked him a short distance in the air. Then Trunks jumped up and Hammer Punched Cell in Selena's direction. Selena got ready to blast Cell with an energy blast, but Cell quickly caught himself in the air, and planted his foot on Selena's face. Selena was slammed into the ground head first, and Cell quickly started running away.

"Selena!" Trunks yelled in panic, running to the girl. "Are you okay?"

Selena couldn't answer.

She was knocked unconscious.

^

__

She was running…

What for, she wasn't sure…

She was chasing someone…

That someone opened a door, walked through, and closed it behind them…

She opened the door and ran inside…

"Get back here, you son of a bitch!"

She wasn't in a room…

She was in a forest…

The door slammed behind her…

She looked behind her, and the door had vanished into more forest…

It began to rain, and thunder rumbled in the distance…

She felt a drop on her head, and walked foreword…

A drop hit her hand…

She instinctively looked at it…

The drop wasn't a raindrop…

It was blood…

She looked into the sky…

The raindrops were red…

It was raining blood…

She cried in disgust, and ran foreword to find shelter…

She was becoming soaked in blood from the sky…

She didn't like it…

She couldn't accept it…

She wanted to get out…

She screamed…

Soon, she came to a clearing, and the raining blood ceased…

The clouds still lingered, keeping the forest in darkness…

Selena was standing behind the forest, and facing a lake…

She had seen this lake before…

On the other side of the lake was a stone archway that led into further darkness…

On the ground, by the arch, was a small body lying in a pool of fresh blood…

It was the body of a child…

The clothes were familiar…

"Sakura!" Selena cried out with horror. "Sakura! I'm coming!"…

Selena began to run…

Everything seemed so slow…

Her foot touched the water like it was solid ground…

She began to run across the water, slightly disturbing the stillness of the lake with slow ripples…

She looked down at her feet and stopped running…

The water rippled out from her feet, warping her reflection in the lake…

She looked at the reflection…

Something was odd about it…

As the ripples began to calm, the reflection became clear…

The reflection was not Selena…

It was Cell…

Selena's heart filled with fear…

Her face paled…

Her eyes widened…

Her breath was stolen away…

The reflection did not move…

"No!" she cried, putting her hands to the side of her head…

The reflection put his hands to the side of his head…

"No! This isn't right!" she screamed. "Go away!"…

She kicked the surface of the lake with all her might…

The water suddenly burst into strange, sickly yellow flames…

Selena fell into the flames, feeling no pain…

From the flickering fires, human hands, arms, and the faces of skulls appeared…

The skulls were screaming in horror and pain…

The hands grabbed for Selena…

The arms tried to pin her in one place…

Selena tried to struggle out of them, trying to reach the other side of the lake…

The hands scratched her…

The arms pummeled her with lariats…

The skulls tried to bite her…

She swam through the fire as though it was water…

It all felt like strong gravity trying to drag her down into the yellow flames…

Almost to the other side…

"Sakura!" Selena yelled, reaching out her hand…

The tiny hand seemed so far away, yet was so very close…

Selena jumped foreword to grab the hand…

"Sakura!"…

Many hands grabbed her and hoisted her in the air…

Hands from the fire…

Selena was plunged into the flames…

She was dragged down, down, down…

She fell into clawing, biting, yellow emptiness…

"SAKURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"…

All was black…

^

"Selena?" she heard a voice ask her. "Selena? Can you hear me?"

Selena started to open her eyes. Her head was in tremendous pain, and she felt like she couldn't move. Trunks was hovering over her, and he looked worried. 

"Trunks?" she moaned, closing her eyes again.

"Oh good, you're alright. Careful, don't move. Your head is bleeding. Don't worry, I found your medical kit and I bandaged your head. I think you'll be okay."

"Oh man…" Selena moaned, putting a hand to her aching head. She felt the linen bandages wrapped around her head and hair. She carefully prodded them with her fingers and found where the wound was. It was to the right side of her head, and it didn't feel too bad. She opened her eyes and looked up at Trunks. "How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad."

"I'll be fine, I just need to lay here for a few more hours. My head can't move around at all, okay?"

"Okay." Trunks nodded. "If you need to stay here, I'll protect you."

"Thanks." Selena smiled. "I'd like that."

"Here." Trunks offered, taking off his jacket. "Get comfortable." He quickly bunched up his jacket into a bundle, carefully lifted her head, and put the bundle underneath her head to give her a pillow. Selena smiled at the generosity, then she noticed Trunk's set of biceps and pectorals. She could swear she was looking at the most well built man in the world. His muscles were a real work of art. She started blushing.

__

Wow…he is a stud…and a really nice guy…

"Are you okay?!" Trunks started to panic. "Your face is turning all red!"

"I'm fine." Selena suggested. "I just feel a little hot, that's all."

"You'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay." Trunks suggested. Then, he froze. "Whoops…sorry, that's your line." Selena laughed lightly as Trunks sat down. "Man, I feel really bad…you got hurt because of me. I shouldn't have done that…who knows what could have happened…" Selena smiled in charm, and she reached out to touch Trunk's hand.

"It's alright." She insisted. "What happened, happened. I understand. So, don't be ashamed."

"I won't let him do anything like that to you…" Trunks started to mutter angrily. "He could have killed you…"

"Trunks?" Selena wondered. "What are you saying?" He looked at her, then stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. 

"You're a nice girl, Selena. Probably the most…fascinating girl I've ever met. You're not like anyone else I know…and I would really feel bad if something bad happened to you."

"Trunks, that's so sweet." Selena smiled. "Thank you. You're quite a guy yourself." She stared up at the blue sky above. "You're brave, and strong, and caring, and thoughtful…feh, I'm sure you've got hundreds of girlfriends back in the future…"

"Actually, no I don't." Trunks shook his head. He laughed slightly as he looked down at her. "Women make me nervous."

"Aw…" Selena grinned, "…do I make you nervous, Trunks?"

"Kinda…" he admitted. He turned his eyes away from her, and stared down one of the alleyways. He put his other hand over Selena's covering it. "Jeez, you're ice cold…" He put a hand on what forehead wasn't covered by Selena's bandage. "You're cold all over."

"I feel a little chilly." Selena admitted, feeling herself blush.

"Here." Trunks offered. "I'll warm you up." Suddenly, he leaned over her and gave her a kiss on the lips. Selena instantly sank in the sweetness of the kiss, feeling herself warm up all over. Her free hand reached up and touched Trunk's cheek, and she pulled him even deeper into the kiss. Her face was flaring up with passionate heat, and she felt her body tremble. She didn't want the moment to end…

It all seemed so sudden…

…it felt like it lasted forever…

…Trunks then parted his lips from hers…

…And he quickly backed away from her in fear, as though what happened was the most frightening thing of his life. Selena felt worried.

"Trunks, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing." He shook his head, standing up. "I…uh…" He then sighed. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me…I'll…just keep guard right now…"

"Trunks…"

"Maybe you should get some rest." Trunks suggested as the color returned to his face. "You'll be laying there for a few hours anyway. Don't worry, I'll watch over you."

"Thanks." Selena sighed, closing her eyes. "I'd like that…"

She soon drifted off to sleep.

^

Trunks didn't dare leave her side for a moment. He watched over her as she slept, and he sometimes looked away from her to see if anything around them looked suspiciously like Cell. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Cell was ruthless, and wanted the both of them dead, but he wasn't stupid. Plus, the monster had a sense of honor, and probably wouldn't attack Selena while she couldn't defend herself. He looked back at the girl below him.

__

Amazing…

Just amazing…

After a couple of hours, Selena stirred and opened her eyes. She woke up, then put a hand to her aching head.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked her.

"I feel better…" Selena moaned, softly probing her head. "The bleeding seems to have stopped…" She slowly sat up, cradling her head in her arms. "Can you help me take these bandages off please?"

"Sure." Trunks nodded, slowly unwrapping the bandages from Selena's head. After they were off, Selena carefully touched her wound. It had stopped bleeding alright. As long as she didn't break the newly formed skin, it would heal properly. She quickly combed some hair over the wound to hide it. 

"There." She sighed. Then, she stood up. "Okay, let's go." Suddenly, the world blurred and she felt dizzy. She almost toppled over, but she bumped into a wall on her shoulder and held her head in her hands.

"Uh, are you sure you're okay?" Trunks asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Selena shook her head a few times to clear it, and batted her eyes several times until the alley came back into focus.

"Yeah." Selena answered Trunks. "Let's get going."

They began patrolling the alleys once again.

^

Selena held her left arm out to help her scar get a better reception. Trunks walked by her side, just to be sure she wouldn't have another fainting spell. They both kept their eyes peeled and their wits about them. Selena's scar would ache occasionally when they came to a fork in the alleys, and they would go in the direction that her hand would suddenly jerk at. Selena had no idea if they were getting any closer to Cell at all…she didn't know if her theory about being able to sense Cell through her scar was true.

As they kept walking, Selena couldn't help but notice they had passed by the same graffiti messages. She found that suspicious, so she tapped on Trunk's shoulder.

"Is it just me, or are we going around in circles?"

"What?" Trunks blinked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think we've been this way before…" Selena looked around, seeing the familiar alleyway before her. Trunks looked around too. 

"I dunno. It is pretty much the same as the Tokyo city of my time. The alleyways should be the same as the alleys here…"

"And I can't feel Cell at all…" Selena moaned. She stopped walking, and laid her back against the wall. "The last thing I need right now is to be lost."

"We're not lost." Trunks suggested.

"Then where are we?"

"We should be close to the heart of the city. I can hear the traffic on the other side of the walls. Close to the heart of the city are what must be a billion intersections, and since the Tokyo of this time is full of people, then most of them would be driving their cars through here to get to where they want to go."

"You keep calling it the Tokyo of this time. What was the Tokyo of your time like?" Selena wondered. 

"Follow me." Trunks invited, walking down one of the branching allies. They passed by three homeless men wrapped in dirty blankets before they came to an opening in the alley that revealed a very busy street. Cars were stopped in traffic, and were honking at each other. People were walking along the sidewalks, bustling in everyday business, oblivious to the monster lurking in the city's shadows. "Look at that."

"Big city sights." Selena shrugged. "So?"

"In my time, these streets are empty. They are quiet, dead, and so very still. No living thing dares to wander these streets, because if the androids senses them, then the unlucky lifeform automatically dies."

"Whoa." Selena gasped. She couldn't picture all of Tokyo as a wrecked, lifeless disaster zone. It was just impossible. These androids Trunks would talk about seemed just as heartless, if not more so, than Cell. If that was true, then both of them were just as worthy of death as Cell was. She couldn't allow them to live either for their crimes.

She turned to Cell.

"What about Cell? Did he do this to other cities in your time?"

"Cell doesn't exist in my time." Trunks explained, scratching the back of his head. "At least, I don't think he exists yet…"

Then, speak of the devil, they heard Cell's growls behind them. Selena quickly turned and ran in the direction of the noises. Trunks quickly followed. Selena stopped running at the place where she had seen those homeless men. Trunks couldn't stop in time, and accidentally bumped her over to the ground. She landed on one of the limp, dirty blankets. They were empty…just like the stabbed clothes of the once living men. 

Cell had absorbed them. 

Selena grabbed the blanket tightly as Trunks helped her up. She looked at the dirty, rat gnawed, moth eaten blanket with an idea brewing in her head. Then she turned to Trunks with a sly smile.

"He shouldn't have gotten far. C'mon, I got an idea that might work."

^

Selena stood alone at an intersection of alleyways, holding her staff in her hands. She looked around for Cell, but didn't see him. According to her aching scar, he was nearby. She especially kept an eye of the alley behind her. Trunks was hidden in the shadows of the alley to her right. He kept a careful eye on her as she stood out in the open, leaving herself prey to attack.

__

…kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…kt-ch…

She heard his footsteps right in front of her. She stood a little straighter, seeing that Cell wasn't going to launch a surprise attack after all. He stepped out of the shadows, and the darkness seemed to part from him as though he was stepping out from behind thick curtains. He stood before her, tall and proud and ready for anything she may have planned for him. She stood in the same manner. She kept her wits around her, and her awareness at it's maximum. She hoped to God her battle plan worked.

"I see your head is doing fine." Cell pointed out. "It's a good thing you weren't seriously injured. You could have died."

"Why are you concerned?" Selena wondered.

"You know that I don't want you dead yet, Selena."

"Why?!"

" 'Why?' " Cell spat back at her. "Because you're fun."

"Fun? What the hell do you mean by 'fun?' "

"Oh, I'll let you draw your own conclusion." Cell toyed, putting a secretive hand over his beak and rubbing his finger under where his nose would be. Selena narrowed her eyes at him, losing patience.

"Look, I dunno what game you're trying to pull, but playtime is over!" she snapped. Then she launched herself at him. He simply stepped to the side, dodging her attack and causing her to sail past him. She landed on the ball of her foot, and rebounded off the ground at him, lunging for a tackle. His tail raised from the ground, and slapped across her chest like a whip. Then Cell spun around swiftly and landed a punch on her chin. As she fell through the air, she looked over at the alley Trunks was hiding in. 

"NOW!" she screamed into the alley. Trunks instantly jumped towards Cell. Cell seemed to sense Trunks behind him, and stabbed his tail at the boy. Trunks held one of the blankets taunt and Cell stabbed into the blanket rather than the half Saiyan. Trunks then wrapped the blanket around Cell's tail, and drew his sword.

"Time to dissect this worm!" Trunks announced, about to bring his sword down on Cell's tail. Cell snarled through his fangs, and quickly drew his tail out of Trunk's hand, and used it to slap him to the ground.

"Insolent punk!" Cell hissed at Trunks. Suddenly, Selena sprang foreword with a blanket in her hands and pulled it over Cell's head. Temporarily blinded and in small confusion, Cell staggered away a few steps. Selena lunged foreword, and landed several punches and kicks on Cell's chest and shoulders. Cell couldn't see her attacks, so he had trouble defending himself. Then she flung one punch on his face that sent him flying into a wall. The blanket floated from his face to the ground. Cell quickly sat up and started taking the blanket that was wrapped around his tail.

"I could bet that this took some careful thought…" he muttered sarcastically. Then, he looked up to see Trunks in front of him. The boy was holding his hands together and above his head.

"MASENKO!" he chanted loudly. Cell jumped into the air before Trunk's blast could hit him. The explosion blew apart the whole wall. Cell hovered in the air, and Trunks jumped off after him. The both of them engaged in a lightning fast fistfight in the air. Selena took out her staff and aimed it at the two fighters. She was waiting for one of them to escape from the fist lock and hover away for breathing space, then she would fire a blast at Cell. But first she had to wait.

But then she noticed something strange. As Cell and Trunks fought each other on offence mode, both were countering each others attacks exactly. It was like one and the other knew what his opponent would do, and countered it with another attack. Either they could read each others minds…or it seemed to be rehearsed…

__

But that's impossible! It has to be a mind reading trick…some members of Trunk's team knows how to read minds, I think…

Maybe Cell has some of Trunk's DNA and is using Trunk's own techniques to attack him. Why not? It's the only logical thing I can think of…

Suddenly, Cell backed away a couple feet from Trunks, and hit the boy hard in the face with a punch. Trunks crashed to the ground, cracking the cement he landed on. 

"Trunks!" Selena cried in worry, running to the boy.

"Stand back!" Trunks tried to warn Selena, but he was too late. 

****

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

The sound of Cell's wings caused Selena to look behind her in a hurry, but she was too late. Cell punched her to the ground along with Trunks. She fell into the cement face first, cracking her landing spot into a crater. Trunks quickly got up, and fired a one-handed ki blast at Cell. The android easily slapped it aside, making the attack curve upward into the air and land in a desolate part of the alley. Selena tried to stand up, pushing herself off the ground, but Cell stomped his foot on her back, forcing her down and pinning her there. 

"I have won." He said simply. There was no victory or taunting in his voice at all. It was said rather plainly, as though he was speaking casually. In fact, he sounded rather bored. Selena turned her head slightly to look at him. A jagged piece of broken concrete cut her cheek slightly.

"Yeah, we both know that." She spat at him. He smiled at her. 

"Well, that takes care of that." He smirked. "Now that I have the city's defenses taken care of, I am free to feed."

"NO!" Trunks screamed, about to get up. Cell slammed his other foot on Trunks, pinning him to the ground as well. So Cell found himself standing on both of his opponents, and he was putting most of his weight on Trunks. The boy was screaming in pain as Cell started leaning in his direction. Selena gnashed her teeth angrily and began to power up.

"Leave him alone!" she yelled at Cell. "Your fight is with me!" Her white aura burned around her, and her sacred power fluctuated strongly. Cell was instantly flung off her body and Trunk's, and he landed against another wall, crumbling it to pieces. Selena quickly got up, and kneeled next to Trunks. He held a hand out to her, and she took it. They squeezed each other's hands tightly, not needing any words. The typical question was answered by their eyes.

__

Are you alright?

Yes, I'm fine. 

Trunks turned his hand towards the pile of plaster and bricks Cell lay under. He held up his free hand and a ki blast shot towards the rubble. The ki caused the gigantic mess to explode in dust and fire. He nodded his head in satisfaction, and let Selena try to help him up. She looped one of his arms over her shoulders, and they both hobbled away.

"C'mon," Selena suggested, "let's get you to a hospital."

^

Trunks was checked into the nearest hospital, where he was instantly taken to a bed and bandaged. The doctor's said all the ribs on his left side were crushed to almost nothing and that he would be in the hospital for a week. Selena spent a majority of her time next to Trunk's bed. She hovered over him like a mother over a child, worrying about him every minute. He had to smile at that.

"A complete stranger…" he muttered softly, since his jaws were almost held shut by bandages that looped over his head. "…caring for a complete stranger."

"I believe the song is 'You Can Always Depend On The Kindness of Strangers." Selena chuckled. Trunks was in too much pain to laugh. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Listen, this is nothing compared to what the androids had done to me. I had every bone in my body broken, and I was in a hospital bed for one year." He smiled at her. "I should be out of here in no time. So don't worry, I've been in worse pain in this. You can be sure about that."

"Well, you just take care of yourself." Selena wished. "Do that for me, alright?"

"Alright."

"Uh…Trunks?"

"Yes…Selena?"

"Back there…when my head was bleeding…why exactly did you kiss me?"

"Uh…" Trunks hesitated, shifting his head a little lower. "Well…I…" Then he turned back to her, blushing. "I honestly don't know what came over me. I've never felt this way about a girl before." Selena bowed her head in embarrassment.

"Well, I haven't…really…felt…" Selena tried to say. She was blushing too, only her face was so much redder. Trunks began to frown in worry.

"Are you…going to be okay, Selena?" he asked softly. Selena brushed her hand over her face. No, she wasn't going to be okay. She had been rushed into relationships before, but not this quickly, and not with someone like him. She sighed a couple of times, very deeply. Then she looked at Trunks.

"Look…let's just take this one step at a time, okay?" she offered. "Let's just be friends. Okay?" Trunks smiled, and relaxed.

"Okay, sure." He accepted. "Thanks, Selena. This…'love' stuff is new to me."

__

All too familiar to me…Selena wanted to say, but she decided not to. She headed for the door.

"You think you'll be okay by yourself?" she asked him.

"Yeah." He assured. "No problem. Where are you going?"

"I think I better go. We don't know what happened to Cell. I'm going to go check on him. If he's dead, cool. If not, I'll deal with him. He should be weak enough to kill now." She paused. "Come to think of it…he seemed rather weak today. He didn't hit as hard as he used to…and he seemed easier to hurt. I wonder why that is…" Trunks did his best to shrug, but he winced in pain doing so.

"Well, you be careful." He wished. "Watch your back."

"I will." Selena nodded, opening the door. "Take care."

"You too." Trunks nodded back. "Later."

"Bye."

With that, Selena walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Trunks sunk his head into the pillow.

__

Indeed, the most interesting girl I've ever met…

^

Selena quickly ran out of the hospital to the intersection of allies. She looked around, and quickly found Cell's last impact point. She shifted through the rubble and rocks for any sign of him, but she found absolutely nothing. Figuring he was finally obliterated to nothing, she began proudly walking away from the damage.

Her little celebration didn't last long…

In the dust left behind by the debris…

She found unusual three-toed footprints walking away from the scene…

The footprints belonged to Cell.

__

God damn it…she cursed herself, quickly following the tracks through the alley. She ran along the path they made until she found herself at an opening leading her to the main street. She ran out into the open and looked around. Everything seemed normal, Cell nor the chaos he spread was nowhere to be seen. 

Where did he go?

"Hey! There she is! Hey, Selena!"

Selena looked down the main street to see a group of people she smiled at. They were Krillin, Sakura, Piccolo, Tien, and…what in the…???

"Selena-san!" Sakura cried, jumping into Selena's arms. Selena hugged the girl tightly.

"Hey, kiddo." Selena greeted solemnly. Krillin ran up to her.

"Where'd you go? We got worried." He asked.

"Sorry, but Cell was here and I had to catch him."

Piccolo frowned at that.

"Do you not listen to me, or are you just stupid?!" the Namek growled through his teeth. "I keep telling you to stay away from him. He could kill you."

"I'm not dead yet." Selena growled back, "So don't start with me. The people of Tokyo are still alive because Trunks and I were able to stall…"

"What?" the other party member blinked.

"Huh?" Tien wondered, looking at the other party member. Selena looked at him too, and smiled.

"You sure are a bold one, Trunks. Already out of the hospital. Do you have a senzu bean on you or something?"

"Uh…"

"Where did your sunglasses go? I bought them for you, don't tell me you lost them."

"What are you…"

"And what happened to your eyes? They changed color!"

"Excuse me?" the man blinked.

"Selena, what are you talking about?" Krillin worried. "Have you and Trunks met?"

"Sure have." Selena nodded. "We spent the whole day together. He even helped me fight Cell. See, we…"

"Uh, no we didn't." Trunks shook his head. "I don't even know your name."

"Huh?" Selena blinked. "But…but I broke your sunglasses…and we has sushi…and we fought Cell…and then you k…"

"Na-uh!" Trunks shook his head. "I don't even know you!"

"And your eyes are not blue!"

"They've always been this color!" Trunks claimed, pointing to his eyes.

"What is going on?" Piccolo demanded.

Selena had to explain her day. However, she left out the kiss just to be safe. Even without the kiss, everyone's jaws dropped to the ground.

"I didn't do any of that!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Wait a minute…" Piccolo stopped. "What was the color of Trunk's eyes during that whole time?"

"I could just barely tell, he always wore those sunglasses…he didn't in the hospital. They were pink."

"Pink?" Trunks blinked. "I never had pink eyes…"

"Weird." Krillin did his best to comment. Poor Sakura was just confused and had no idea what to say or do. Piccolo and Tien looked at each other for a minute, then Piccolo's face tightened in understanding. He looked back at Selena.

"Selena, you go with Krillin and Sakura and get out of the city." He ordered. "Tien, Trunks and I will keep looking for Cell. We'll also keep an eye out for this other Trunks."

"I don't think you need to worry about him." Selena insisted. "He was just some shapeshifter probably trying to get a girlfriend or something…"

"And if you see him again…" Piccolo warned, "you stay as far away from him as possible. Don't question me, just do it. Okay?"

"Fine." Selena huffed. "Whatever. I've done my job, and I'm obviously in the way now. Thank you and good bye." She turned on her heel, and marched off. "C'mon Sakura, Krillin! We're off!"

"Okay!" Sakura chimed. 

"…Alright…" Krillin accepted. Both walked after her. Trunks looked up at Piccolo. 

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Selena could be in danger." Piccolo said to the boy. "Keep an eye out for either Cell or a kid who looks like you. Both of them are after her." Then he looked at Tien. "Let's split up. We'll find him faster that way."

"Right." Tien nodded. Before Trunks could ask another question, both Piccolo and Tien took off flying in the air. Their take off scared some nearby pedestrians and caused a car crash by two frightened and confused drivers. Trunks ignored all that, watching Tien and Piccolo fly away in separate directions. With nothing to really do, Trunks crossed his arms and stared down at his boots to think.

__

I never wear sunglasses…

I'm allergic to sushi…

My eyes were never pink…

What the heck?!

He looked around in confusion.

__

Who would do such a thing to Selena?

^

Cell finally lost strength to walk without support, and leaned on the wall for some form of a crutch. He was bleeding all over, and was losing energy fast. He needed to feed quickly…

Suddenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and he stopped walking.

"Show yourself!" he demanded to a shadowed alley to his left. Trunks walked out of the shadows. His sunglasses hid his eyes, and he was busy unwrapping bandages off his head and jaw.

"Hey there, big guy." He greeted with a grin. "Need a hand?"

"Take off your sunglasses." Cell demanded.

"Relax." "Trunks" assured Cell. "It's me." The sunglasses were pulled off his nose, revealing pink eyes. Cell smiled weakly.

"Finally." He sighed. "What took you so long?"

"Never mind that." "Trunks" shook his head. "Well, you ready?"

"Yes." 

Trunks held out his arms.

"PRESTO!"

POOF! The fake Trunks turned into another Cell. Then, the other Cell jumped towards the original, and the two merged into one being. Cell's injuries were healed over, and he stood up straight in pride. Using both the Multi-Form Technique and the lessons from the Shapeshifting Academy, Cell had managed to get all the information he needed about Selena. He smiled to himself.

"Indeed, a most interesting girl…"

With that, he hurried down the alley to suck away the people of Tokyo City.

****

The End

This was a short story based on my fanfic chronicle Unholy Crusade. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to do so. It's perhaps my most interesting Cell fic yet. What makes it so fun and entertaining are the end of episode bonuses at the end of each chapter. For this short story, I decided to introduce a song. It is in Japanese and is the beginning theme of the first act of UC. This song is by Ayumi Hamasaki and is a really good song. Here it is.

Trauma (Opening Theme)

kyou no ureshikatta kao kyou no kanashikatta kao  
kinou yowakatta jibun to ashita kitto tsuyoi jibun to  
anata nara dare ni miseteru watashi nara dare ni misereba ii  
  
jikan nante mono wa totemo  
toki toshite zankoku de  
demo sono zankokusa yue ni  
ima ga tsukurarete  
hito o motome yamanai no wa isshun no kaihou ga  
yagate otozureru kyoufu ni katte iru kara  
  
ashimoto de yurete iru hana ni sae  
ki zukanai mama de  
toorisugite kita watashi wa kagami ni  
mukaenaku natte iru  
  
kyou no ureshikatta kao kyou no kanashikatta kao  
kinou iyasareta kizu to kyou fukaku hiraita kuzu o  
anata nara dare ni miseteru watashi nara dare ni misereba ii  
  
ataerareta jibun dake no  
shouki to kyouki ga atte  
sono dochira mo hitei sezu ni  
sonzai suru nara  
  
MUDA na mono afurete shimatta mono  
yaku tatanai mono mo  
mayowazu ni erabu yo sou  
watashi ga watashi de aru tame ni ne  
  
shiawase no kijun wa itsu mo  
jibun no mono sashi de  
kimete kita kara  
  
kyou no ureshikatta kao kyou no kanashikatta kao  
kinou iyasareta kizu ga kyou hirakidashita toshitemo  
anata nara dare ni misereru watashi nara ano hito ni misetai

****

Translation

The happy face today, the sad face today,  
The weak myself yesterday, the strong myself yesterday,  
who can you show it to? And who can I show it to?

Time is quite cruel sometimes,  
but only due to this cruelness, present is made

I wish to face the change with other people, because of the sudden release  
To be the victory of fight with fear coming soon

I come here even I just simply ignore the flowers near my feet  
when will I give up to look at the mirror?

The happy face today, the sad face today,  
The wound healed yesterday and the greater trauma today,  
who can you show it to? And who can I show it to?

The sanity and madness that belong to me  
The survival of me cannot object any side

Even though it is a unfavorable and useless thing,  
I still choose it, yes, it's because I want to be myself

Because I usually use my rule to measure the standard of happiness

The happy face today, the sad face today  
Although the wound healed yesterday open again today,  
who can you show it to? And who can I show it to?

****

Thank you very much!


End file.
